## Facts

- Carl and Beverly Bass leased commercial space in Rockbrook Center, Omaha, for a billiard parlor at $400 per month under a written lease that purported to allow reentry without notice upon default.
- Bass fell behind on rent before the property changed hands; after defendants acquired the property and the lease (April 1971), Bass paid no rent to the new landlord.
- On June 1, 1971, Bass found the landlord had changed the exterior locks and refused to provide a key; he hired a locksmith to regain entry, but was told he could no longer occupy the premises.
- Bass removed limited items (books, cash, some ashtrays, and a cue case) and later found the locks changed again, preventing reentry.
- The landlord removed and stored Bass’s remaining business equipment (including billiard and snooker tables and related items) in its warehouse; Bass’s attorney received an inventory.
- The tables were subject to a purchase-money security interest with about $3,000 unpaid; the landlord allowed the secured party’s representative to remove the tables, which were later sold, with Bass receiving no proceeds.
- Bass received no written notice to quit and no judicial process preceded the lockout or removal of property.
- A jury awarded the Basses $12,000 for taking and detention of personal property; the landlord obtained $600 on a rent counterclaim.

## Issues

1. Whether a landlord may, without statutory notice or judicial process, change locks and seize/detain a tenant’s personal property based on rent default and a lease clause permitting reentry without notice.
2. Whether the evidence and jury instructions provided a legally sufficient, non-speculative basis for a $12,000 damages award for taking and detention of business equipment.

## Decision

- The court held the landlord’s self-help lockout and seizure/detention of the tenant’s personal property was wrongful under Nebraska law and policy favoring statutory remedies over self-help.
- The court held the $12,000 verdict could not stand because the proof of value and loss of use was speculative and the jury was not adequately instructed on the proper measure of damages.
- The court reversed and remanded for a new trial limited to damages.
- The landlord’s $600 judgment on its rent counterclaim remained in effect.

## Legal Principles

- Nebraska’s forcible entry and detainer scheme reflects a public policy that parties must use statutory judicial remedies rather than self-help to regain possession.
- A lease clause authorizing reentry without notice does not justify extra-judicial dispossession or attendant seizure/detention of the tenant’s chattels when statutory procedure governs.
- A landlord who wrongfully takes or detains a tenant’s personal property may be liable in conversion or wrongful detention even if the tenant is in rent default.
- Damages for taking/detention of personal property must be proven with reasonable certainty; awards cannot rest on speculation or conjecture.
- Trial courts must instruct juries on a workable measure of damages (e.g., value and any supported loss-of-use component) to permit a rational calculation tied to the evidence.

## Conclusion

The Nebraska Supreme Court held that a landlord may not use self-help to lock out a commercial tenant and seize or detain the tenant’s business equipment without statutory process, but it ordered a new trial on damages because the jury’s award was unsupported by reasonably certain evidence and adequate instructions.


Bass v. Boetel & Co., 217 N.W.2d 804 (Neb. 1974)